The news about Lansdowne Park continues to provide both context and an insight into the workings of City Hall - particularly with respect to the use of City owned facilities.

“During my eight months as chief of staff to the mayor, not a month would go by without some group heading in to see staff in the mayor’s office, with artist’s renderings in hand, to promote their solution to save Lansdowne…

City council now has a rare opportunity to make a decision on the future of Lansdowne Park. The present proposal is community-driven, consistent with city development policies, transforms an abused city asset, is a win for local residents and all taxpayers and is a forward-looking step worthy of our status as the capital city of a G8 nation.

                                                                                    Walter Robinson, Mayor Larry O’Brien’s former Chief of Staff
                                                                                    Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 2007

Couple of things.  Given Mr. Robinson’s claim that there was a revolving door of business proposals for Lansdowne, it seems reasonable to conclude that there was likely more than the two we know about for Lynx Stadium.  We’ve known for some time that the Can Am League and the Lynx thought they had a done deal - a deal which included a resolution of the lawsuit, only to have the rug yanked out from under them at the last minute.  They’ve never been offered a reasonable explanation, which leads to speculation as to what went wrong.  As the title of the post suggests, one wonders if the City was happy to deal with Mr. Wolffe and entertain his plan - until a better one came along.  Was the Ottawa Stadium Group proposal that “better one”?  And what happened to the formal proposal that they were “days away” from submitting last Friday?  We haven’t heard.

And what about the process itself?  It appears that it’s within the ambit of the mayor’s office.  Which is not to say that everyone is, or should be happy about it.

“For their part, the Glebe Community Association and the Federation of Citizens’ Associations, an umbrella group that represents the interests of more than 80 community associations across the city, is concerned that Mr. O’Brien has been holding unilateral talks with developers.

They say Mr. O’Brien has been privately discussing the developers’ proposal with the business owners. Particularly troubling, they say, is the developers’ claim that Mr. O’Brien told them they couldn’t develop a part of the area — “that it was all or nothing.”

“The idea that the mayor decided it’s all or nothing is astounding,” said Bob Brocklebank, president of the Glebe association. “I don’t think he has a right to do that, and other people, both public and on council, will have different opinions on that. It’s not a decision he should be making alone.”  (emphasis added)

                                                                                                           (Ottawa Citizen, September 29, 2007)

Our hope now is to find out as much as we can about what derailed the Can Am bid, and what we can do to fix it.  The clock’s running.

Once the developers’ plan is fully in place, the city would get about $15 million a year in property taxes instead of losing $1.5 million on operating the park, Hunt says. This would be a near-complete privatization of Lansdowne. The only piece of property that would remain in public ownership is the land beneath the football stadium, and it would be on a long-term lease.

The developers initially didn’t want to own all the property, Hunt says, but Mayor Larry O’Brien told them it was all or nothing. The group has been dealing with the mayor behind the scenes to get its project moving.

                                                                                                       (Ottawa Citizen, September 28, 2007)

Mr. Doucet said he’s suspicious of the motives behind the latest pitch. He thinks the real point of their plan is not to bring football back, but to develop the area for private use.

“If they were really about bringing football back to Ottawa, they would be going after a football team only, but they aren’t,” he said. “They are going after a football team, yes; but the real goal is to get this public land and turn it into a big private profit.

“The city is in the quality-of-life business, not the business of creating profit opportunities for developers, so why should we be sacrificing public land for private interest? The answer is we shouldn’t, and the public is not going to stand for this.”  (emphasis added)

                                                                                                     (Ottawa Citizen, September 28, 2007)

Sorry about the delayed blogging today.  The two quotes above give a pretty clear illustration of what happens when Council finds out about deals the Mayor’s office has negotiated privately.  Given his position on Landsdowne Park, I guess we can presume Mr. Doucet will be in our corner on the Can Am League issue - or at least, not in the corner of those who would prefer to develop Coventry Road for “private use”.  It’s also interesting to note that according to Jeff Hunt, the proponents of this plan weren’t interested in owning all the property - “but Mayor Larry O’Brien told them it was all or nothing.”

But getting back to the Lynx/Can Am situation, my concern is that whomever is calling the shots on this file at City Hall has an ulterior motive, or has dug in their heels on the legal issue.  If it’s an ulterior motive, then what we’re witnessing now is the City hoping to run out the clock - with the Lynx “breaching the contract” and/or the Can Am League forced to move on.  If they’ve dug in their heels on the lawsuit, I think they’re holding a losing hand - hopefully we can find a way for everyone to “save face” and fold before the baseball option is just no longer an option.  It’s also worthwhile to note that the City is not currently suing the Lynx; there’s no counter-claim to the Lynx’s suit over the parking issue.  What we now know has been communicated to the Lynx is that they are unwilling to give up on the $2.7M they say the team owes.

We hope to be able to convince the City to deal with the only solid proposal it currently has for the Stadium - one which essentially maintains the status quo.  I have yet to hear any rumblings that anyone down at City Hall was unhappy with the operating agreement as it currently stands - in fact, if they’re to be believed, the City wants expects the Lynx to live up to it.  The Can Am League, in essence, is willing to assume those obligations, effectively becoming the Lynx for the remainder of the agreement and beyond.  To paraphrase my son, why don’t we let them?

To let this happen, all the City has to do is walk away from the money they say is owed by the Lynx to a city which no longer exists.

From yesterday’s Three Guys on the Radio (TGOR), a discussion about the Can Am proposal, and the now famous letter.  Sorry about the format, but until I figure out how to embed an audio player into WordPress, this is the best I can do. 

Sue me (pun intended).

*** UPDATE ***

“Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

                                               United States Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

Let me say it once again: I’m glad that all the facts have now come out.  Until the last couple of days, we’ve been getting parts of the story, in bits and pieces - but now, with the letter from Miles Wolff, we now have as complete an airing of the issues as we’ve had so far.  I encourage you to read the letter and listen to the discussion from yesterday’s podcast (i.e. the Youtube vid. above) -it was a little disheartening to hear “Stuntman Stu” trotting out the argument that only a few hundred people show up for games.  Quite apart from the fact that it’s entirely inaccurate - he has first hand knowledge that it’s not the freaking case!

Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd and Stuntman.  Sunday, July 22, 2007.  Attendance: 3,374.

As Neate pointed out in his post here, you now know one of the reasons why the Lynx in the person of Kyle Bostwick have been so reticent to declare they were leaving.  Couple the detail in Mr. Wolffe’s letter with the Mayor’s office’s response to the Can Am supporters,

“Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding the future of the Lynx Stadium.

Presently the Ottawa Lynx have two years remaining on their lease at the Coventry Road facility and despite recent media reports we have not been officially informed that they intend to breach their contract at this time.

Until such time as the Lynx breach their contract, discussions regarding the future of this facility would be premature yet we continue to review our options for the long term use of this facility.

The Mayor’s goal is to ensure that we protect the interests of the taxpayers while continuing to make this facility available for the enjoyment of the citizens of Ottawa. I continue to follow the developments and hope that we may find a solution that fulfills both of those goals.

Sincerely,

Lynne Manion
Administrative Services Coordinator
Mayor’s Office, City of Ottawa”    (emphasis added)

and it would seem reasonable to conclude that the City is equating an announcement that the team is leaving with a declaration that they intend to breach their contract.  I think that another inference can be fairly drawn:  “contract” is a euphemism for the “operating agreement” (or, what has widely been referred to as “the lease“), and once that contract is “breached” the City has a free hand and can issue an RFP (request for proposal) for Lynx Stadium.  At that point, the Can Am League has to get in line with everyone else - Wal Mart, Future Shop, the wrecking ball, and yes, the indoor soccer guy.

The Can Am League doesn’t need or want that contract broken - so don’t get fooled into thinking or demanding that the Lynx should call it quits.  Miles Wolff wants to live under the terms of the existing operating agreement, and possibly extend it further. 

Here’s one of the few questions now remaining: Is the City waiting for - or hoping for a breach? 

Finally, for today, the other trap all of us (including myself) need to avoid is acting as though “the City” was one homogenous entity, with a well directed plan concerning Lynx Stadium.  In fact, we now know that there is some support for the Can Am League proposal. 

We just need to keep the pressure on.

*** UPDATE II ***

The “first hand knowledge” link has been updated.

The Can-Am League just made this sh…, er…, “stuff” real:

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Ottawa Baseball Puzzle

The future of pro baseball, ANY pro baseball, has reached a crucial stage. If you care about the future of baseball and Lynx stadium, read this letter from the Can-Am League and take appropriate action:

Ottawa is about to lose professional baseball after fifteen years in the city. It shouldn’t happen. It doesn’t need to happen. But it probably will, because a combination of city officials, lawyers, and others are making what should be a simple transition from the International League to the Can-Am League very difficult. Ottawa has the best baseball facility in all of Canada, and it could be showplace for not only the Can-Am League but also the national teams of Baseball Canada, but it will be either transformed or torn down in the next year if common sense does not prevail.Background. After wildly successful years following the opening of Lynx Stadium in 1993, attendance fell, and in recent years the team has lost money. A combination of poor early operations, losing teams, an excessive schedule and other factors cause the decline, and over the last few years Lynx management has been looking to sell the franchise. A new $40 million stadium is being built in Allentown, PA, and the team has been sold and is moving to that city for the 2008 season. Lease. The original lease was signed in 1992 by Howard Darwin and was amended in 2000 when the Lynx were bought by Vermont businessman Ray Pecor. The lease runs through the 2009 season. There is a $216,000 penalty to Pecor if he does not operate in 2008 and 2009. However, the lease also stipulates that the Lynx still owe on a promissory note of $2,777,000. According to the Lynx this is interest on the initial stadium construction cost. To build the stadium the city of Ottawa borrowed from the city of Nepean. The principal has been paid off, but this remaining interest is owed to city of Nepean. However, with the fusion of the two cities, the Lynx believe that there is no interest due by the city of Ottawa to Nepean because it would now owe the money to itself.

The Lawsuits. The Lynx have instituted a lawsuit of $10 million against the city of Ottawa because of the parking issue and other portions of the lease not fulfilled. In a meeting in April with the Mayor and City attorney, the Lynx, represented by Ray Pecor and Kyle Bostwick, promised to drop the lawsuit immediately if the city dropped their claim of $2,770,000 for the promissory note. The Can-Am League was present at that meeting to state that they were ready to take over the Lynx’s lease and fulfilling all obligations of the lease other than the promissory note. It is unclear whose position is stronger, but it is certain that if the legal proceedings continue, they will go on for years and legal fees could be half a million dollars and more. The only winners will be the lawyers.The Can-Am League. The Can-Am League is an independent professional league located in the Northeast U.S. and Québec City. It plays a 94 game schedule, and most baseball observers rate the league as closest to Class AA in affiliated baseball. The league believes it can be very successful in Ottawa for several reasons: (1). the league schedule does not start until late May, cutting out the April and early May dates that killed the Lynx. (2). league members sign their own players, and the emphasis would be on area and Canadian professionals that fans can identify with. (3). the budget for the Can-Am League is considerably less than for the International League. Independent baseball has been very successful in Winnipeg and Québec, and Ottawa, a larger market than either of these cities with a better stadium, should be an equivalent draw.Baseball Canada. The Can-Am league has had considerable discussions with Baseball Canada about making the Lynx Stadium their home. Offices would be moved to the stadium, and Baseball Canada, without a current home field, would be able to make the stadium their home field. International events and tournaments could be held at the facility, and the stadium would be the centre for baseball in Canada. Timing. There is little time left to make any of this happen. All of this was proposed in April in order to make for a smooth transition over the summer. Now, time is almost out. The Can-Am League schedule needs to be completed in October. The lawsuit of the Lynx is moving forward. Employees of the Lynx who were ready to work for the Can-Am are looking for other jobs. The Lynx own nearly $1 million in assets in the stadium (concession equipment, furniture for 32 suites, press box equipment, office desks and equipment, ticketing system, etc.). The Lynx have offered this equipment to the Can-Am League free of charge. However, if the lawsuit continues, the Lynx will begin selling off their assets, and it will be almost financially impossible for any baseball club to up-fit a stadium if all the equipment is gone.

Posted by Steve at 6:41 AM  

This was posted on Steve Warne’s blog over at the Team1200.com.  It’s been confirmed as having come from the Can-Am League, and at long last all the cards are on the table.  You now have all the details. 

Discuss….

For those of you not in the Ottawa area, summer has finally arrived.  It wasn’t this warm in July - and believe me, most of us aren’t complaining about it.  It does seem odd though, to not be thinking about baseball, or at least local baseball - I feel like I should be heading out to the Stadium, or checking in on the out of town scores.  Hard to believe that the season ended over three weeks ago….

Some end of season awards were handed out last week by the Phillies for the best player and pitcher in their minor league system.  One of them, Mike Zagurski, spent a bit of time right here in Ottawa.  Mike picked up the Paul Owens award for the ”best pitcher in the minor league organization in 2007″.  Congratulations Mike!

Mike Zagurski in his Ottawa uni.

Not the clearest shot, but I was having trouble with the camera and the flash that night.

Afraid that’s all I’ve got time for today - it’ll be interesting to see and hear more about Landsdowne Park in the next few days.  Has anyone heard if the plan includes renovating the Civic Centre as well?

Parsimony:  economy in the use of means to an end;

In light of yesterday’s news that the south side stands at Lansdowne Park truly do suck*, does it not now make even less sense to re-develop Lynx Stadium, or worse, leave it sit vacant too?  

Lansdowne Park is just one big question mark sitting beside the Rideau Canal.  (If I were the Ottawa Business Journal, I would qualify that by saying it’s a big question mark sitting on a prime piece of real estate beside the canal.)  With more rumors of the CFL** returning and an international design competition to redevelop the site - it’s probably worthwhile to note one thing:  The only thing we have for sure right now is a crumbling stadium.  (Sitting on a prime piece of real estate.)

On the other hand, with Lynx Stadium we have some known commodities - chiefly a safe building in good condition with a prospective tenant (who intends to use the facility for its designed purpose) killing themselves to sign on the dotted line.  “The boy” weighs in with his two cents:

Dear Mayor and the Ottawa Councillors,
 
I am writing this letter to ask you to really consider the Can-Am League’s proposal to take over Lynx Stadium.
 
I am 10 years old and I love baseball. It doesn’t make sense to me to put something else in a Baseball Stadium. Besides, I read that it will cost the city of Ottawa 40 million dollars to renovate the stadium. That’s a dumb idea. Won’t the taxes go up then?
 
This summer, I went to alot of baseball games with my dad. He spent alot of money on tickets, food and merchandise. Sometimes my mom and sister went too. Our family supported the Lynx because many local people got jobs there and it was our team. It wasn’t expensive for our whole family to go out and do something together. It was cheaper than going to the movies.
 
I made lots of friends there with other kids who went to the games. There were fans who were all ages. There was lots to do there. You could play ball in the picnic area, talk to professional players in the bullpen, play in the kids fun zone and watch the game too. There were people with mental and physical disabilities who also got to enjoy the game. Where will they go next summer?
 
I also met out of town fans (of the opposing teams) who were visiting Ottawa just to see their team play. They told my parents that they visited places like Parliament Hill and the Market while they were here for the game. One family we met were fans of the Blue Jays and they came to see the Syracuse Chiefs (Blue Jays AAA farm team) because it was easier to drive to Ottawa than go through the border into the US. They said Ottawa was beautiful and that we should be proud of such a great baseball facility.
 
Alot of people, including me will be missing baseball in Ottawa. I don’t understand how city government works but if you have a baseball league that needs a park and we already have one that will be empty, why don’t we just let them use it?
 
Zech Kiiffner  (emphasis added)

Now the $40M may be picked up by the developer, and I realize there are legal issues to work around, but when all is said and done, I think he makes a fair point.  We have a baseball facility.  We are likely losing a tenant.  We have a prospective tenant willing to move in.  Someone at City Hall has to make this happen.

Parsimony, my friends. Keep it simple. Let them play ball.

* For those of you from out of town, or otherwise unfamiliar with the history of Landsdowne Park, it was customary for fans to yell across to the opposing stands that they “sucked” - e.g. “North side sucks”, “South side sucks”.  We’re a creative bunch here in Ottawa (sitting on a prime piece of real estate).

** “O’Brien has been meeting with a group of local investors who are putting a business case together to bring back professional football to the capital.

“This group of business people are very high-quality and deep-pocketed,” said O’Brien, who has also been talking with officials from the Canadian Football League about the proposal.”  (Ottawa Sun, September 25)

Man.  Does that sound familiar.  (And in a sickening way.)

This will most definitely be a “work in progress”.  I’ve done a quick bit of research, and confirmed that last Friday’s Ottawa Business Journal (OBJ) article on the Ottawa Stadium Group’s proposal is indeed their third on the subject.

(Businessman reveals ambitious plans for Lynx Stadium)
(Developer hopes to help settle dispute between Lynx, city)
(Lynx stadium roof project and Can-Am baseball to co-exist: proponent)

In my post on Saturday, I hinted that the OBJ appears to have a bit of an editorial bias away from baseball.  Certainly the “Time to employ a little creative destruction” piece strengthens my argument.  If you take a quick look at their archives, it seems that a lot of business people share the “anything but baseball” view - convention space, casinos, big-box retail, and perhaps not surprisingly, soccer.  But the soccer angle seems to go back a little further than I first realized - and this is where I’d like to recruit some investigational assistance.  For example, here’s a story I dug out of the OBJ archives from January of this year.  Money quote:

The EODSL has made no secret of its interest in making Ottawa the future home of a premiere regional soccer facility, possibly by converting Lynx Stadium into a modern but cozy soccer venue.

But Mr. Troy is keeping speculation to a minimum, for now. Toronto, not Ottawa, has the big money to invest.

“It would be really nice to have a smaller, modern stadium,” he said. “Toronto FC, and (owners) Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, put a significant investment in the sport. Ottawa’s not there yet.”

It would be interesting to find out just how far back all of this goes.  And of course, there’s always the parking lot issue that was never (in my opinion) sufficiently investigated by the press. 

Wanted:  Anyone with a computer, “Google” and a little spare time.

Just a very quick post for this morning (maybe for today).  It was nice to see the oft “message-board and blog” maligned Clay Condrey pitch a scoreless 10th frame to preserve the 4-1 Phillies win yesterday.  The win, coupled with a San Francisco loss moved Philadelphia to within a half game of the Eastern wildcard with seven games to play.

I’m happy that the blog’s become a lot more interactive in the last few weeks, with more and more people taking the time to leave comments.  However, there are a few rules I guess I should have spelled out more clearly.  The first rule of the blog, at least for me, has always been “Thou shalt speak no evil of anyone in the Lynx organization”.  That rule will apply to commenters as well - if the criticism’s not fair or constructive, there’s a very good chance it won’t get posted.   If it’s just a cheap shot, you’re best not to waste your time. 

Let’s face it: This is not an objective blog - nor is it a democracy.

*** UPDATE ***

Neate’s got a nice takedown of the other Ottawa Business Journal article surrounding Lynx Stadium from earlier this week.  Unlike Friday’s piece, I had seen this one (in the print version no less) but wrote it off as editorial I just happened to disagree with (blogger: Remember, I’m trying to stop picking fights with the media).  It is curious though, that along with the scorched earth policy they seem to favor, the OBJ also seems to have a lot of time for Mr. Butler - what’s this, the third article from them?  Correct me if I’m wrong - but have Miles Wolff and his proposal not been given the short end of the stick by OBJ?  Again, I stand to be corrected, but I don’t recall any major stories covering his plan….

I’m sorry, but this just sounds a little too good to be true:

“Mr. Butler reiterated that, contrary to some reports, his group is fronting the millions needed for the construction work, to be headed by local Ottawa firm M.P. Lundy Construction Ltd.

He said he’s held meetings with a number of interested stakeholders over the last few weeks.

He said the proposal, if accepted, would see an end to the current lawsuit between the Ottawa Lynx and the city over alleged parking promises, with OSG swallowing a potential $3.4 million bill.

It would also keep baseball in the capital, he said.

“We decided that, for the benefit of community, we’d embrace what (the Can-Am League) is trying to do, and give them a chance to continue playing baseball in that facility,” he said.

The Can-Am league had been hoping to locate a baseball franchise in Ottawa in time for next season. Recently, commissioner Miles Wolff was in Ottawa to meet with councillors to push for that idea rather than a capping the stadium.”

Thanks to an astute blog reader who caught the story; Pete Toms, you’ve been scooped.  What I find problematic, and as the title of the post notes, Mr. Butler is trying awfully hard to be all things to everyone - a solution for the Can Am League, a solution for the Lynx (i.e. assuming that 3.4 million dollar debt that the City believes is owing), a solution for the City (i.e. the stadium doesn’t become another Lansdowne Park).  I’m just wondering one little thing.

Why?

Is retrofitting the baseball stadium to turn it into a concert venue that lucrative a venture?  I don’t think the numbers work out, nor did others (”You’ll never get that kind of money back“).  So what’s going on?  I believe part of the problem for Mr. Butler is that he needs what the Lynx have: the lease.  It won’t be good enough to convince the City that his proposal will fly if he doesn’t have the rights to operate Lynx Stadium along with it.  I’m just not sure why he appears to want it so badly. And what about Mr. Wolff’s desire to play next year instead of waiting until 2009? No problem.

“However, Mr. Butler suggested construction would occur simultaneously with a baseball season.
“Let them play, and we’ll build around it,” he said.”

Play during construction of a domed stadium? That’s beginning to sound awfully desperate. It has all the makings of a B-movie - and a bad B-movie at that. Is there lost treasure buried in centrefield that none of us know about? Fools! If I could just get my hands on that lease!!!!

More later….

We remain hopeful that “The Grays”, the current all-road team in the Can Am League, will find a home here in Ottawa for the 2008 season.  The Grays were formed in 2005 from the ashes of the Bangor Lumberjacks who had become insolvent in April of that same year.  Players for The Grays were absorbed by the Sussex Skyhawks at the end of the ‘05 season and the team itself was shut down.  What was unique about the team of course, was that it had no home; they were always “visitors”.

In 2007, with the addition of the Atlantic City Surf, the Grays were resurrected in order to even out the number of teams and the sched.  Mr. Wolff hinted that the Can Am League had become aware of the situation here in Ottawa and held out the longer term goal of placing the Grays here for 2008.

How tough was it for the all road team back in 2005?  This article gives you a pretty good sense of life on the bus.

Tell them they have no fans, they’ll tell you they don’t have to bother with personal appearances and promotions. Tell them the travel is tedious, they’ll tell you they play Massachusetts teams in theNorth Shore, Worcester, and Brockton, all short rides. They’ll ride a bus for eight hours till the wee hours and then go lift weights at the hotel gym. These are the real boys of summer, guys ranging in age from 22-35 chasing a dream dangling at the end of dotted highway lines..

It’d be pretty tough not to cheer for these guys considering how tough they have it, even if they were the opposition.  Here’s hoping that they find a home in Ottawa for 08.

More later….